Our solar system is a one-star system. This doesn’t apply to all-star systems within the Milky Way, the galaxy we are located in. Numerous multi-star systems are found in the universe.
Although most of them are binary systems containing two stars, they have some with other celebrities. The stars are the basis for the notion of supernova, which is the final stage in the evolution of massive stars. This will explode into an explosion of bright stars. Astronomers always look for any potential supernova eruption as they could affect the entire world. In this research, scientists discovered that a quadruple-star cluster – named HD 74438 could be completely new in how thermonuclear supernova explosions can occur across the universe.
In 2017, it was found that the HD 74438 constellation is four-pointed. It comprises two stars that revolve around one another simultaneously in a close 2 (2+2 array). Further research discovered that HD 74438 is one of the youngest systems, having only 43 million years old. Scientists at their home at the University of Canterbury Mt. John Observatory in New Zealand discovered that the quadruple was formed by the four-star clusters that were gravitationally bound.
Their research, which was published in Nature Astronomy, showed that the effects of gravitational forces of the binaries have changed how the binary orbits make it more eccentric orbit. Thus, the researchers tried to simulate the stars’ orbits for the near-term future. They discovered that gravitational dynamic could cause multiple mergers or collisions, resulting in dead stars that have changed or white dwarfs that have mass lower than that of Chandrasekhar the limit. In the final analysis, the white dwarfs could cause a thermonuclear supernova.
Named in honour of his Indian native scientist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, this limit is the most massive mass found in an original white dwarf. The most widely accepted number for Chandrasekhar’s limitation is that the Chandrasekhar limit is approximately 1.4 solar mass.
